Ethics in the Workplace
Analyze three of the following ethical scenarios:
- Lorna is an administrative assistant in the human resources department. Her good friend, Bill, is applying for a job with the company, and she has agreed to serve as a reference for him. Bill approaches her for advice on preparing for the interview. Lorna has the actual interview questions and considers making him a copy of the list so he can adequately prepare. Is this unethical behavior? Why or why not?
- Betty is a high-producing, devoted employee who, at her boss’s request, will often volunteer to work overtime in an emergency. One morning, after arriving late to work, she told her boss that she got caught in traffic, when in fact, she overslept. Is making up an excuse for being late to work unethical behavior in Betty’s case? Why or why not?
- Suzy and Tom work on an assembly line making computer parts. While there are safety protocols in place to prevent workplace injuries, these policies slow down the pace of work. Since employees are paid per computer part that gets assembled, Suzy and Tom decide not to follow the safety procedures so that they can speed up the pace of assembly. Is this unethical behavior? Why or why not?
- Bob noticed his supervisor, a young married man, taking his divorced co-worker Joanna home two nights in succession, and decided something was going on between them. Without any malicious intent, Bob introduced the matter into the local grapevine and, as so often happens, the rumor got out of hand. Is Bob’s behavior unethical? Why or why not?
- Jennie was recently hired to work as a receptionist for the front lobby. As a receptionist, she is responsible for making copies for the associates. Her son Bruce comes in and needs to make some copies for a school project. He brought his own paper and needs 300 copies for his class. If he does not bring the copies with him, he will fail the project. The company copier does not require a security key, nor do they keep track of copies made by departments, so Jennie allows her son make the copies at her work. Is this unethical behavior? Why or why not?